Residents get grief counselling after quadruple murder

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Timothy Bernard's father, 'Power', is a picture of grief as he is being consoled by a resident, Marsha Mair.

Church leaders and members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Chaplaincy provided counselling for residents of the deep rural community of Bath district in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, yesterday after the community was rocked by a quadruple murder late Saturday night, head of the Corporate Communication Unit (CCU) of Jamaica Constabulary Force, Stephanie Lindsay said.

"Our Chaplaincy department has dispatched persons to provide grief-counselling to members of the community. There are also some churches, so a lot of persons are on the ground providing support to community members," Lindsay said.

Two motorcycles

Reports from CCU are that about 9 p.m., the four men were among a group of people when two motorcycles with pillions rode up. The pillions came off the motorcycles and opened gunfire at the group.

The four men were shot multiple times and were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Bath was a picture of grief yesterday when THE STAR visited the area with residents still trying to make sense of the killings.

"Daddy took my little baby girl as him leaving and she did not want to come back to me, " said Carl Banhan's daughter, Sherika, as tears streamed down her face. "It is as if she knew it was the last time she would see him alive, he had to force her to come back to me and tell her that him soon come."

"All now I cannot believe it, daddy dead. Can never believe seh daddy dead," she said repeatedly.

About 100 metres from the Banhans, residents took turns consoling Timothy Bernard's father, 'Power', who was at his gate crying uncontrollably, but refusing to talk.

"This is how he is since it happen. Timothy was everything to him," Marsha Mairs, a resident told THE STAR. "Dem kill a good youth, a real good youth."